While I stipulate to calling out shitty behavior and stealing bikes is just that, I gotta ask out loud again about the virtue of the yellow bike program. It seems to strike a nerve in a lot of burners to the point of obsession in "sniffing out a cheater." How is a free bike radically self-reliant? Or, more to the point, how can DPW have "expectations" other than shit heel behavior after dumping off a load of free bikes on the playa.

Remember the golden rule: "People are fucking assholes."

Admire the sentiment behind the free bike program (Providing bikes to those who otherwise would be without in a city built for bicycling) but don't understand the indignation. This is doubly ironic considering how much time we (myself included) preach about the importance of locking your bike.

I'd love to hear from somebody in the DPW about their take on the success/lack of success of the program.

People don't like cheats. I wish I could remember where I picked this up, but they actually did some sort of study that confirmed this. Maybe it was offering up a problem that was abstract in one iteration and interpersonal in another; and they found that people understood it in the context of cheating.

Anyway, the principles contradict each other. (If anyone remembers Stuart's sig line, something like "Radical Self-Reliance, Radical Community, Radical Inclusiveness--Choose One.") One of the balancing acts we do is decide what emphasis we give to each one.

Not that I'm dpw...

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

I was under the impression that the yellow bikes were ??someone's?? gift/project, not actually a part of BM or the DPW's project. So how would they contradict with the principles, unless gifting itself contradicts with the principles? Of course, I'm often under the impression that I know something when I don't, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Timezone LaFontaine wrote:I was under the impression that the yellow bikes were ??someone's?? gift/project, not actually a part of BM or the DPW's project. So how would they contradict with the principles, unless gifting itself contradicts with the principles? Of course, I'm often under the impression that I know something when I don't, so correct me if I'm wrong.

You're wrong.

They are community bikes meant for a one way ride only and not to be kept as personal bikes. It's a project "run" by the DPW, but this does not mean they are "gift" bikes.

Timezone LaFontaine wrote:I was under the impression that the yellow bikes were ??someone's?? gift/project, not actually a part of BM or the DPW's project. ..

You're wrong. They are community bikes meant for a one way ride only and not to be kept as personal bikes. It's a project "run" by the DPW, but this does not mean they are "gift" bikes.

I think you misunderstood LaFontaine's question about someone saying the Yellow Bikes are against the principles. Gift, as in, you're gifted with their use. Same as someone giving you a rickshaw ride or you get to go for ride on an art car (where permitted), but you don't get to take the car home with you. And, the question is, who runs/provides the Yellow Bike Project? Is it the powers that be, or someone's theme camp type project?

Jar Jar Sith Lord.Odd. No bears in the dump. Oh well, lets go across the road & pick blueberries..... but don't harm the red dragon that frequents the area from time to time. He and I have an agreement.

Canoe wrote:I think you misunderstood LaFontaine's question about someone saying the Yellow Bikes are against the principles. Gift, as in, you're gifted with their use. Same as someone giving you a rickshaw ride or you get to go for ride on an art car (where permitted), but you don't get to take the car home with you. And, the question is, who runs/provides the Yellow Bike Project? Is it the powers that be, or someone's theme camp type project?

Yes, that's what I meant. I too have had run-ins with people who think they're entitled to hold onto the bikes after they've gotten off them. But anyhow, to further clarify, my impression is that the yellow bikes are a project brought to BRC by someone/some organization who doesn't want to bring attention to who they are, and are not managed by the DPW. Like, you'd really have to search to find out who brings the bikes. But, since this is a project of said entity, it is their gift to the community and I can't see how that contradicts with any BM principles any more than gifting sno-cones does.

I kept an eye out for the "yellow" bikes all week - and only saw maybe a dozen of them. I'm sure that more of what we just saw, actually happened. From people spray painting to taping them up. When we were looking @ used bikes for my Husband - we found a nice cruiser that was the same shade of green - that he liked.. but I told him HELL no. People will think it is one of the "yellow" bikes and jack it... or bitch because it was locked up.

Saw that. Was curious for more specifics. Got the impression it was pretty much the same crew, but not sure.

Heard about someone chasing down someone riding with no pants and nothing to protect the seat and grabbing them by the back of the hair and off the bike while moving...then taking the bike back to the bike depot for sanitizing. Something about a rule requiring the use of a courtesy towel. Although why someone would ride the seat nude without a towel to protect themselves from disease is beyond me.

Jar Jar Sith Lord.Odd. No bears in the dump. Oh well, lets go across the road & pick blueberries..... but don't harm the red dragon that frequents the area from time to time. He and I have an agreement.

This is sad to see, but it is not the only thing to happen with the community bikes at burning man. One time at 10 & K I saw a yellow bike, locked, and another taped with checkered duck tape. Another time, another place, I found another locked bike, and another.I was lucky, though, to have found a few throughout the week, those 4 times were the only real times I had needed them, and they appeared magically. The last time I was lucky enough to find one all alone, I needed it to get back to camp from center camp before the temple burn, and I was passing by the camp of somebody I needed to return a shirt to and say goodbye - I took the risk, and, it was worth it - though the bike was taken So I ran all the way back to camp and hey! There was a yellow bike there! No lock, no tape.So, there was a good bit of yellow bike magic for me that week, but I was truly saddened to see the gift to the community be stolen. To see people not get it, and let their individual needs overrule the needs of the community as a whole is such a tragic loss. The way I see it, though, every year is a clean slate! Here is another chance to experiment this gift. As the event gets bigger, the moop map seems to get greener. Some things take longer to get. It really is something worth keeping around and working for as a whole. It is one lesson among many on the playa to take back to the world!Things like this just make me want to be more involved in so many ways. I love everything about this experience, even seeing this, I love it, because it takes these things to make you look at the greater picture and make the difference.Love unconditionally, share wisdom, grow in Love.

I don't know enough about welding, but here goes anyway.... Could a highly visible piece of metal, say a plate or some other permanant feature be welded to each yellow bike?

This metal marking would need to be something really well thought out, something that would make it impossible for the 'radically self absorbed' to ever use tape, paint, fur, what have you, to conceal the yellow bikes.

I'm the MAN in a truck, burner who is stuck, you're in luck! I'll whip out my BIG tow chain and not charge you, not even one lousy buck!

moonrise wrote:I betcha someone will recognize those asshats, in time.

I don't know enough about welding, but here goes anyway.... Could a highly visible piece of metal, say a plate or some other permanant feature be welded to each yellow bike?

This metal marking would need to be something really well thought out, something that would make it impossible for the 'radically self absorbed' to ever use tape, paint, fur, what have you, to conceal the yellow bikes.

This seems like a no brainer. Just cut and weld a steel plate with the Burning Man insignia like they used to gusset BMX bikes. However, it is incredibly difficult to find an image of such a thing on a rental bike.

I was thinking something like this but with a Burning Man insignia instead of the round hole.

I wish the OP had titled this thread Thwarting Yellow Bike thieves 7 & D or something like that. It would attract the bicycle crowd, combined with the power of the hive mind here on eplaya, all could brain storm a solution, I betcha...

I like the fin idea, is it safe enough? heh heh The man symbol also sounds good, unless it then appealed to rip offs as a collectable bike.

I wonder, would they go far enough to use fur to cover a permanent well placed metal symbol?(please don't tell me they make fur tape, agh!)

I was thinking of a plate, maybe the shape of the city or an oval, with "Yellow Bike" burned through it with a plasma torch, and welded to the ass end of the frame, seems covering with fur down there would be a risky hassle.

I'm the MAN in a truck, burner who is stuck, you're in luck! I'll whip out my BIG tow chain and not charge you, not even one lousy buck!

junglesmacks wrote:That gusset plate would be easy enough to cover up with a couple of patches of fur though..

That is a good point. Another tactic could be to weld on a disc over the fork mounting tube on the frame. It would about 6-8 inches diameter, have a hole roughly the size of the fork mounting tube, and have the letters BM cut into front part of the disc. Any bike that has a bulbous area underneath the gooseneck would be suspect of being a concealed yellow bike.

I doubt the BRC Rangers have the desire nor the mettle to strongly enforce against the hording of yellow bikes via concealment. This might require an independent BRC vigilante force who could patrol against such crimes and apply a red hot branding iron to the necks of offenders.

junglesmacks wrote:That gusset plate would be easy enough to cover up with a couple of patches of fur though..

That is a good point. Another tactic could be to weld on a disc over the fork mounting tube on the frame. It would about 6-8 inches diameter, have a hole roughly the size of the fork mounting tube, and have the letters BM cut into front part of the disc. Any bike that has a bulbous area underneath the gooseneck would be suspect of being a concealed yellow bike.

I doubt the BRC Rangers have the desire nor the mettle to strongly enforce against the hording of yellow bikes via concealment. This might require an independent BRC vigilante force who could patrol against such crimes and apply a red hot branding iron to the necks of offenders.

Come to think of it, a ridiculously HUGE A-frame type kickstand could maybe work, welded on so it never comes off... and the funds could be raised via the "Kickstand project for Yellow Bikes" on kickstarter (I think, is it art?)

I'm the MAN in a truck, burner who is stuck, you're in luck! I'll whip out my BIG tow chain and not charge you, not even one lousy buck!

I cannot ride a bike ever again, I don't notice much of the smaller details about them during the event, however, someone more familiar with the entire fleet of Yellow Bikes would know if some of them are ladies style.

Regardless, let us HOPE the spray painting was done with a HUGE ground tarp.

And, they are stolen, hoarded and locked...a big No No!

I'm the MAN in a truck, burner who is stuck, you're in luck! I'll whip out my BIG tow chain and not charge you, not even one lousy buck!

Sharp cookie you are TG. I knew someone would recognize them, Bone Tone, hmmm...the white spray paint is a sort of bone tone. Where's the OP, maybe they can shed more light on this investigation; were the p___s just painting their bikes in Bone Tone???!!!

I wonder, are some of the bikes a mish mash from over the years? If so there could be countless styles... just sayin'

Good work TG! Let's see if anyone knows more about the fleet overall, shall we? (we don't want to condem an innocent!!)

I'm the MAN in a truck, burner who is stuck, you're in luck! I'll whip out my BIG tow chain and not charge you, not even one lousy buck!

Thanks. Just trying to do my part. It is really shitty. These where donated and if he did indeed take one and do this then he needs to be delt with by BMORG and the authorities.I swear some days I think I should have stuck to my guns and gone to school for forensic science instead of hair. In the end it came to hair. Much safer.

maladroit- Burning Man is like a second job, except you pay to work there.Burning Man is just the pre party for exodus! - fellow burner during exodus